Cobirders,
I was visiting with a neighbor and she asked me if I had noticed the large "paper wasp" nest located near the top of a nearby Silver Maple. I responded that I had noticed the nest which I surmised explained the relentless intrusion of yellow jackets during dinners on the back patio this past summer. She then asked why I thought that bird was crawling on the nest. Much to my surprise, I looked up and saw a Northern Flicker meticulously mining the nest with its beak. I have never observed this foraging behavior by any species on a paper nest. Hopefully, Dave Leatherman, the sage of entomology, will comment regarding which member of the Vespidae family the nest likely belongs to and provide something more accurate than “paper wasp” that is used in the neighborhood vernacular. Good Birding, Steve Stachowiak Highlands Ranch, CO -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Colorado Birds" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/cobirds/a6ccdfd2-98a9-4f86-9f5e-81e26a84d8ef%40googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
